1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a home appliance, and more particularly, to a rotary knob assembly mounted at a control panel of a home appliance.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a home appliance includes a control panel assembly. The control panel assembly is used to instruct an operation and display an operation state of the home appliance. The control panel assembly is comprised of a panel part exposed to a user and a substrate housed within the panel part. The substrate has a switch electrically connected with a controlling unit and a display device for displaying an operation state, which are installed thereat. Various mechanical switches are provided at the panel part to operate the electric switch of the substrate. As the mechanical switch, there are a rotary knob assembly, a slider assembly, a press button assembly and the like. Specifically, the rotary knob is rotatably installed at the panel part, and is used to select a specific function or control a level of the selected function according to a control amount of the knob.
In the rotary knob assembly, the rotary switch is generally installed on the substrate. The rotary switch includes an encoder and an encoder shaft rotatably coupled to the encoder. Additionally, a knob is coupled to the encoder shaft for a user's manipulation.
However, a heavy and large knob is directly coupled to the rotary switch, and the rotary switch is not enough supported by the substrate or the panel. Accordingly, if a great force is applied to the home appliance or the knob assembly, the rotary switch is easily destroyed. Specifically, if a great impact is laterally applied on the moment, the rotary switch can be partially deformed by the knob or be detached from the substrate.
Further, due to the same reason, the knob is not stably supported by the rotary switch. Accordingly, since the knob is greatly shaken left and right, it is erroneously manipulated.